The Federal Railroad Administration requires that railroad cars be equipped with hand holds on the top and side walls of railroad cars, so a person can safely maneuver about the railroad car. Hand holds are mounted on railroad cars in a variety of configurations to conform to the irregular topography of railroad car walls and to comply with applicable safety regulations. Hand hold configurations have permeated into scores of different hand hold designs.
Hand holds must be made of a reliable material, usually steel, for safety purposes. For the same reason, hand holds must be securely mounted to the exterior wall of the railroad car and be in a state of good repair. Detached or broken hand holds must be replaced immediately for the railroad car to operate without violating governmental safety regulations.
To keep all railroad cars operational, a railroad company must stock a matching replacement for every one of its uniquely configured hand holds which is in use. Railroad companies face inventory problems because hand holds come in a variety of configurations. Inventory problems include multiplied inventory, excessive storage space and exorbitant replacement costs.
Attempts have been made heretofore to mitigate inventory problems by providing hand hold assemblies for railroad cars having fewer components. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,827 to Sittner employs an assembly of five different parts, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,047 to McLean employs an assembly with two different parts to minimize inventory. The present invention employs an assembly which has three different parts, but the new assembly offers much more versatility and security than the prior art assemblies.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide an improved hand hold assembly which reduces the number of replacement parts necessary for an adequate reserve inventory.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved hand hold assembly which is easily adaptable to installation on the variable surfaces of railroad cars.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved hand hold assembly which securely connects the hand hold to the railroad car.